


Tidal Wave

by Ace_From_Outer_Space, Nothing_You_Can_Prove



Series: The Stars Aligned [15]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Day At The Beach, F/F, Fluff, Multi, Romance, Teasing, i just wanna see these kids happy ahdjkfjdsgfsa, minor rusim and whatevs Charlie and James are called, violetine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 06:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18544153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_From_Outer_Space/pseuds/Ace_From_Outer_Space, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_You_Can_Prove/pseuds/Nothing_You_Can_Prove
Summary: The Ericson gang head down to the beach, ready to cause mischief and mayhem.





	Tidal Wave

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for so long. Glad I finally got around to writing it. One to cross off the backlog. As usual, a little pressed for time so, uh, go go speedrun writing mode XD

A large van pulled up just shy of the beach. When it came to a stop, the doors burst open. Mitch and Willy sprinted down to the water, quickly overtaken by Sophie and Rosie. The remaining Ericson gang got out after, unpacking. It had been a tight squeeze.

Was it legal? Probably not. Did they care? Nope.

Carley glanced over her shoulder, smiling at Clem and AJ. “We’ll be further down the beach if you guys need us.”

“Wouldn’t want to cramp your style,” Lee chuckled as he stepped out into the sun.

“Thanks for bringing us here.” Clementine hugged them both when they were out in the fresh sea air.

“You’re welcome, sweet pea.”

Parting ways, she took AJ’s hand and led him down to the beach. Violet had waited for her, smiling as she approached. Casually, she slipped her hand in Clem’s free one.

“It’s been a while since I came to a beach.”

“Me too. Last time, I buried Lee.”

Violet raised an eyebrow, amused and curious. “You did?”

“Yup. Then I balanced a bucket on his head and hit it with a spade like a golf ball. Mom filmed the whole thing.”

Violet snorted at the mental image. “I’d like to see that some time.”

“Oh, it’ll be somewhere in the ancient Everett archives. I could maybe get him to recreate it later. We also made some kick ass sand castles.”

“I can imagine. I’m gonna make some with Soph. You can come help. If you want.”

Clementine gently swung their arms. “That’d be awesome.”

“Can I help too?” AJ asked tentatively.

Violet nodded. “Sure you can, kiddo.”

AJ beamed at her, getting excited. As they reached the others, he raced off to play with Tenn. Those two were too cute together.

Minnie turned to Violet, raising an eyebrow at her outfit - jacket, shirt, pants and sneakers. “I seriously can’t believe you’re wearing that.”

Adjusting her jacket, Vi shoved her hands in her pockets. “It’s comfortable.”

“Won’t you get hot? And how’re you gonna swim?”

“You can always roll up your pants,” Clem suggested.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Realizing she wasn’t going to win this, Minnie held up her hands and walked away. Defeated. “Whatever.”

Clementine watched her leave, then turned to her girlfriend. “I think you look really cute today. You always do.”

“I… thanks, Clem.” Violet smiled, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “You do too.”

“Good job, Rosie. You’re the winner. Who’s the champion?” Sophie’s voice carried over from the right. Rosie barked happily, licking her face. “Aw, you silly dog.”

“I just don’t get it,” Mitch said between pants. “How're you so fast?”

“Guess I’m just better than you, huh.” She stuck her tongue out as she smooshed Rosie’s face.

“Not for long,” Mitch muttered, determined.

Willy frowned, thinking hard. Then, he clicked his fingers. “Rocket skates.”

She smirked confidently. “I’d _still_ kick your ass.”

While that was happening, Louis and Marlon found a large clear spot. With their hands and feet, they marked out a wobbly beach ball court. Dumping their jackets in the middle to make the middle line clearer, they high fived.

“Now let’s find some victims… I mean, willing volunteers.” Grinning, Louis turned to Violet and Clementine. “How about it, girls?”

Violet didn’t even let him finish, overlapping. “No.”

“Oh, I see. Scared off by these bad boys.” He flexed, pulling a bunch of ridiculous poses. “I don’t blame you.”

She scoffed, poking his arm. “Ha, what muscle?”

Pouting, he poked her back. “Okay, noodle arms. You’re just jealous.”

“These noodle arms will be round your neck and noogying you if you don’t shut up.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe, then.” He winked. Before she could protest, he’d already moved on to his next target. He threw an arm around James, patting his shoulder. “James, my man.”

James looked over at Charlie, who nodded. “Okay.”

“That… was less painful than I was expecting.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Charlie cracked his knuckles. “It’s _about_ to get painful.”

“Ho hooooo. Fighting talk. I like.”

Louis walked over to Marlon, hunching as if they were having a super secret team talk. While they waited, James and Charlie grabbed some water bottles and snuck in a few pre-game kisses for good luck.

Finally managing to escape Rosie’s affection spree, Sophie approached Violet. “You guys ready for some hardcore sandcastle building?”

“Damn right.”

They found a spot, close enough to watch the game but not within stray ball territory. AJ and Tenn came over to join them.

“You guys start planning, okay.” Sophie gathered together all their buckets and spades, then went on a hunt for some shells and seaweed. “Whoever makes the best sandcastle gets a prize.”

Tenn sketched a design out in the sand, letting AJ add some extra pieces. When they noticed Clementine and Violet watching, AJ moved in front of the drawing.

“No peeking. That’s cheating.”

When Sophie returned, they started making their castles. She flitted between them, helping out as needed. Violet dug out a moat while Clementine constructed the main building. Halfway through, they noticed AJ and Tenn digging out a path to their sandcastle.

Violet narrowed her eyes playfully. “Is this sabotage?”

“No.” Tenn shook his head, continuing to dig. “They should be connected. So we can visit each other.”

“That’s a great idea, Tenn.” Clementine paused her work on the building, extending the moat to include a joining river.

Once dug out, Sophie filled it with water. “Perfect. We’ll start judging soon, so start wrapping up.”

They resumed work on their sandcastles. About fifteen minutes passed before they were finished. Another five for decorating with shells, rocks and seaweed. Smiling, Clem wrote something in the sand above their door, careful not to press too hard in case it crumbled.

**Castle Violet.**

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not just my castle though. It’s _our_ castle.” Shaking her head, Violet altered the name.

**Castle Violetine.**

Clementine laughed at the addition. “Now, that’s just plain dorky.”

“Never said it wouldn’t be.”

“Okay, step back from your castles,” Sophie said, standing up and brushing herself down. “It’s time to-”

Out of nowhere, Willy smashed into their delicately crafted sandcastles. Mitch skidded to a halt, whistling innocently.

“Goddammit, Willy,” Violet muttered as she looked at their ruined work.

“I didn’t mean to.”

Sophie crossed her arms, stern. “Well, then you can help us make a new one.”

“What? No, that’s boring.”

“I’ll let you smash it after we’ve taken a photo. And you can add a bunch of death traps.”

“Fine. I want a…” he paused, deep in thought. “A lava moat. And a catapult that fires grenades.”

“Don’t forget the spike pit!” Mitch exclaimed eagerly, kneeling down beside him.

Soon enough, they had a row of sandcastles. Each with their own moat and collection of shells. Mitch dusted off his hands, stepping back to look at their work.

“Pretty good, if I do say so myself.”

“Yeah!” Willy smiled. “That was fun.”

“They look amazing,” Tenn added cheerfully. “Just like how I imagined it.”

Violet nodded at their joint effort. “We did good.”

“Of course we did.” Sophie nudged her. “We always do.”

“What do you think, Goofball?”

AJ looked at all the sand castles they made, nodding approvingly. “I like them. They look cool.”

“And now, for the main event…” Mitch grinned, taking up a fighting stance.

“Hold on!” Sophie grabbed onto his arm. “We gotta take pictures first, _remember_?”

Sighing, he relaxed. “Right, right.”

They took several photos before Mitch and Willy got to work crushing them all. AJ and Sophie joined in too, enjoying the destruction as much as the creative process. In the aftermath, they examined their work. Satisfied.

“Nothing like a good sandcastle smashing session.”

A beach ball rolled up to Sophie’s feet. She picked it up, looking at the makeshift court.

“Hey, we could use some more people over here,” Louis called over, waving. “Unless you’re chicken.”

“What, tired of James and me kicking your butts?” Charlie goaded.

Marlon scoffed loudly. “Pfft, as if.”

“Last I checked, we were winning.” James checked their sand tally, nodding. “Yes, we are.”

“You guys need some girls to show you how it’s done.” Sophie grabbed Violet’s arm, dragging her towards them. “Come on, Vi!”

Almost falling over, Violet resisted getting dragged long enough to catch Clem’s eye. “Uh, I’ll see you later?”

“You bet.”

Time to check on the others. She spotted Brody and Minnie sunbathing. Debating for a moment, Clementine shrugged and walked over to them.

“You guys seem… relaxed.”

Minnie adjusted her sunglasses, pushing them down her nose enough that her eyes were just visible over the top. Offended that her sunbathing had been interrupted.

Brody noticed, shaking her head. “Oh, don’t mind this drama queen.”

Rolling her eyes, Minnie flicked her glasses back down.

“Man, I’ve wanted to come here forever with you guys.” Brody sat up, leaning back on her hands to look out over the ocean. “Isn’t it just beautiful?”

“It sure is.”

“Has AJ ever been?”

Clementine searched the beach for AJ, finding him with Tenn and Rosie. “Once, when he was really little.”

“My parents brought me down here all the time. Easy way to keep me out of trouble, I guess. I could play on this here coastline for hours.” Brody smiled to herself.

“Sounds like me with my tree house.”

“A tree house, huh. Fancy.”

“It was my pirate ship, igloo and castle all in one,” Clementine recalled fondly.

“You played princess?”

“Warrior Princess. With a sword.”

“That’s what I thought.” Brody chuckled at the thought. “I sure can’t see you as the damsel in distress type.”

“No way.” Clem smiled, feeling someone glare at her. “I’ll, uh, leave you to sunbathing.”

“ _F_ _inally_ ,” Minnie muttered under her breath.

“Oh hush, you.” Brody bumped their thighs together, lying back down.

In the distance, Clementine saw Ruby and Aasim crouched by a tide pool. They muttered to each other, pointing out various sea creatures.

“Hey, Clem,” Ruby greeted cheerfully.

“Having fun?”

“Always.” Aasim swirled small circles in the water. “Ruby knows a lot about starfish.”

“I ain’t just full of country gal knowledge.”

“My auntie Katja would like you. She’s a vet and lives on a farm.”

“You’ll have to introduce us. Man, I just love all these critters. Land or sea.”

“You still have to teach me how to ride a horse,” Aasim reminded her, taking hold of her hand.

“I know, hon.” Ruby kissed his cheek, then turned back to Clem. “Your auntie got horses?”

“Yep. Cows, too.”

“Sounds like heaven to me.”

“We’ll own a farm one day,” Aasim stated, expression determined.

Ruby rested her head on his shoulder. “Mmm, that’d be damn near perfect.”

“I’ll let you two daydream in peace.”

“See you.”

Curious, Clem looked over at the beach ball game. Violet seemed to have escaped, replaced by Mitch on Louis’ team. His rivalry with Sophie fueled his participation. The ball smacked him straight in the face, making her cackle loudly.

“You’re supposed to hit it with your hand, not your face,” she teased, watching him punch the sand in frustration.

“I was holding back, but now…” he grabbed the ball, fire in his eyes.

“Get her, Mitch!” Louis encouraged.

“Unleash the mighty power of Mitch!” Marlon yelled excitedly, very pumped up.

Willy jumped up and down. “The Mitchenator! Mitchzilla!”

“His anger will make him sloppy,” James commented calmly, getting in position.

Sophie smiled at him. “Oh, I know. That’s what makes it fun.”

“Oh, you are evil,” Charlie smirked, approving. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

Not wanting to be anywhere near that feud, Clem retreated to the safety of the water. That was when she saw Violet. Her girlfriend now stood in the ocean. The waterline was up to her knee, the bottoms of her rolled up pants wet.

AJ was at the shore edge, staring at the waves. “What if a seaweed monster wraps around my leg and drags me under?”

“I’ll come rescue you. Promise.”

“Okay…” Taking a tentative step forward, he dipped his toes in the frothy sea water. “Ah!”

“What happened?” There was a flicker of panic.

“It’s cold.”

“Oh, yeah I guess it is. You’ll get used to it.”

Puffing out his chest, trying to hide his fear, AJ waded through the water. His movements were slow and hesitant, especially when he got to mid-calf height.

“You got this, AJ,” Tenn encouraged from the sidelines.

“Of course I do.”

“It’s okay, I got you,” Vi soothed, smiling as she watched him march with purpose towards her.

Suddenly, AJ froze up. “Vi.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a seaweed monster…” he whispered, body tensing.

True to her word, Violet strode over to him. She crouched down, pulling the seaweed away from his legs and out of the water. He frowned at it, holding out his hands so he could take it.

“Flip off, fear,” he muttered under his breath before tossing the seaweed back. “I’m good now. Thanks.”

With a gentle smile, Violet ruffled his hair. “You’re welcome, Goofball.”

“Nooooo, not you too.” AJ pouted, crossing his arms.

She chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

Clementine waded through the water to join them. “You’re spending too much time with me.”

“Pfft, yeah right. There’s not enough time in the world for that.”

“Dork.”

“I wanna go deeper, but…” he paused, hesitant. “Can you guys come too?”

Sharing a glance, Clem took one hand and Vi the other. The three of them moved through the water until it was at AJ’s chest height. Every so often, they lifted him out of the water and swung him like a pendulum. He really liked that, giggling like a fool. Clementine splashed him, inciting a war.

Nobody escaped that dry.

After they helped AJ out of the water, Violet and Clementine laid down on the sand side by side. They stared up at the blue sky, hands intertwined.

“There!” Violet pointed up at a cloud. “That one looks like... a knife. Yeah.”

Clementine tilted her head, watching it slowly take shape. “Everything looks like a knife to you.”

“Well, what do you see?”

“A…” Clementine grinned, turning to her girlfriend, “...cute girl I love with all my heart."

“Oh my _god_ …” Violet rolled over, resting her head on Clem’s shoulder with an exaggerated sigh. “Maybe we should start calling _you_ Goofball. Not AJ.”

Chuckling, Clementine held her closer, kissing her forehead. “No complaint here.”

She closed her eyes, feeling the salty breeze, coarse sand grains and lingering water droplets slowly drying out under the sun’s warm rays. Every now and then, she felt something soft against her cheek, jaw, neck - either Violet’s hair tickling or her lips.

“It kinda looks like sugar.” Those five words made Clementine’s eyes snap open. “Can I eat it?”

AJ was crouched down nearby with a handful of sand close to his face. He sniffed it, curious.

Tenn frowned. “I... don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, but how do we _know_ until we do it. It could be the best thing ever.”

Laughing softly, Violet let go of Clem. “Better stop him from getting stomach ache.”

Clementine sat up, switching to mom mode. “Uh-uh. Nope, don’t. Trust me.”

AJ paused, dumping the sand back. “Did you eat some?”

“I dunno…”

Her guilty lack of commitment made Violet snort. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

“What? Kids are curious.”

“Louis did the same thing,” she revealed with a soft chuckle. “More than once. Wish I could say it stopped when he was a kid.”

“He still does it?”

“Nah, he learned his lesson. I think.” Violet considered it for a moment, then sighed. “Shit, I hope. Marlon dared him a couple months ago. Wasn’t pretty.”

“Can’t back down from a dare.”

“Apparently not.”

“AJ, if you’re hungry, have this.” Omar walked over, holding out a sandwich. “One of my new culinary experiments.”

Brushing off his hands, AJ took it and stared at the visible layers. “What’s in it?”

“Something _much_ better than sand.”

He looked up at his sister, cautious yet curious.

Clementine shrugged. What was the worst that could happen? “Better that than sand.”

AJ sized the sandwich up, then took a big bite. He chewed for a few seconds, expression shifting as he tried to figure out if it was tasty or not. Swallowing, he smiled.

“This is _really_ good.”

Omar punched the air triumphantly, then cleared his throat. “Well, I expected it to be.”

“Oooo, did someone say food?” Not waiting for a reply, Louis shoved an entire sandwich in his mouth and stuck his thumb up. “‘S goo.”

Putting a hand on his hip, Omar sighed. “How can you truly appreciate the flavor like that?”

Shrugging, Louis continued to furiously grind down the bready mess. Marlon came over, Rosie stuck to his heel until she realized there was food. She rushed over to Omar, sitting down with her tongue out.

Marlon took a piece of ham from him. “Up.”

Rosie stood on her hind legs, front paws held in front. She barked, eager to get her tasty reward for a good trick.

“Sit.”

Her backside was on the ground faster than the speed of light, entire body wagging.

“Good girl.”

He held out his hand. Ecstatic, she licked the ham off his hand in one sweeping motion. Smiling, he took a bone out from a bag, giving it to her. Politely taking it, she laid down on the sand and started chomping on it. James and Charlie wandered over, accepting sandwiches from Omar. They were closely followed by Ruby and Aasim. Sophie and Mitch bickered the entire way back, Willy rushing past them eager to eat. Eventually, Brody joined them but alone.

“Can someone _please_ get Minnie to come over? I’ve tried so many things, but she’s stubborn. Pretending she's asleep.”

Willy and Mitch glanced at each other, mischief twinkling in their eyes.

“On it.”

They ran over to the sea, dipping the bucket in to fill it with water. Willy waded deeper, picking out some choice pieces of seaweed.

Violet watched them, arms crossed. “This is gonna end with murder.”

“Mitch and Willy are expert troublemakers,” Ruby reminded her. “They won’t stick around long enough to get beaten to a pulp.”

“I don’t know.” Marlon tilted his head, thinking it over. “Minnie’s blood rage is a strong contender.”

Brody exhaled deeply. “No kidding.”

“I don’t know if they are brave or stupid,” James said quietly, more a thought to himself.

Charlie grinned as the two boys crept close to Minnie. “It’s stupidity.”

“Definitely,” Omar agreed, handing out water bottles and more sandwiches.

“Didn’t think we’d find someone stupider than Louis.” Aasim took a bit of the sandwich Ruby offered him.

“Excuuuuuuse you.”

“I hope Minnie doesn’t hurt them,” Tenn mumbled, looking worried.

AJ turned to Clementine. “Will she?”

“I hope not.”

“My sisters all bark and no bite,” Sophie reassured, waving away their concern.

As Mitch tipped the full bucket of water over Minnie, she shrieked and jumped to her feet. She was soaked, bits of seaweed tangled in her hair and draped over her shoulders. Mitch stood near her with the empty bucket, pleased with himself. Willy was doubled over, laughing hard. They shared a quick high five before sprinting off down the beach, Minnie hot on their heels screaming with rage.

“I am going to _kill_ you two!”

**Author's Note:**

> The idea of the Ericson gang piling out of a van like a clown car amuses me, lol. I just love imagining them happy and shit hjlsahdfhldsgl.
> 
> This was based on the convo between Vi, Clem and Brody during the fishing bit. Might do more for the other options at some point.


End file.
